History

Like some of his newest records, including Alhambra Love Songs

Alhambra Love Songs

Alhambra Love Songs is an album by John Zorn which features eleven compositions performed by Rob Burger, Greg Cohen and Ben Perowsky. The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek describes it as "an eclectic homage of sorts to the San Francisco Bay area and the musicians who have and continue to make it their...

(2009), O'o

O'o

O'o is an album by John Zorn released in 2009. It is viewed as a sequel to his 2007 album The Dreamers and is the fifth album in his Music Romance series.-Track listing:# "Miller's Crake"# "Akialoa# "Po'o'uli"# "Little Bittern"...

(2009), The Goddess – Music for the Ancient of Days

The Goddess – Music for the Ancient of Days

The Goddess – Music for the Ancient of Days is an album by John Zorn. It is the third in a series of albums, the first two being Alhambra Love Songs and In Search of the Miraculous.-Track listing:# "Enchantress" – 7:44# "Ishtar" – 5:36...

(2010) and some releases from Zorn's Filmworks series, this album is characterized by softer and calmer sound. Like many of his latest works, this album represents Zorn as a composer, since he does not perform any instruments on this release. The album is performed by a band of musicians, whilst most of them had previously worked with John Zorn before: Shanir Blumenkranz (Rashanim, Satlah, Cyro Baptista

Cyro Baptista

Cyro Baptista is a Brazilian musician, teacher, and recording artist specializing in percussion in the genres of jazz and world music....

, Eyal Maoz), Rob Burger (Tin Hat

Tin hat

Tin hat can refer to:* A waterproof hat made of oil-finished cloth, traditionally associated with those who work outdoors in rainy conditions such as loggers* Kettle hat, part of medieval armour...

, Norah Jones

Norah Jones

Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...

, Trevor Dunn

Trevor Dunn

Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist and double bassist.Dunn came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, notably with singer and Mr...

, Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson

Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American experimental performance artist, composer and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles. Initially trained as a sculptor, Anderson did her first performance-art piece in the late 1960s...

), Greg Cohen

Greg Cohen

A native of Los Angeles, bassist Greg Cohen has been playing in various acclaimed music groups since the '60s. He is perhaps best known for his work with John Zorn's Masada quartet; more recently he has been touring with Ornette Coleman, and performed on Coleman's much-praised Sound Grammar...

 (Masada

Masada (band)

Masada is a musical group with rotating personnel led by American saxophonist and composer John Zorn since the early 1990s.Masada is as much a "songbook" as a group, comprising more than 500 relatively brief compositions...

, Joey Baron

Joey Baron

Joey Baron is an American avant-garde jazz drummer probably best known for his work with Bill Frisell, Stan Getz, Steve Kuhn, and John Zorn...

, Jamie Saft Trio

Jamie Saft

Jamie Saft is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound engineer and producer living in upstate NY. Saft was born in Flushing Queens, New York in 1971 and is a graduate of both Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed and recorded with John Zorn,...

, Tim Sparks

Tim Sparks

Tim Sparks is an American acoustic guitar player, singer, arranger and composer.- Biography:Raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he was given his first guitar when a bout of encephalitis kept him out of school for a year...

), Ben Perowsky

Ben Perowsky

Ben Perowsky is a New York City based drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger and record producer.-Biography:Exposed early on to jazz from his parents, Frank and Ginger Perowsky, and teacher Bobby Thomas, as well as rock and roll from his older brother Ricky, Ben watched the great musicians...

 (Jamie Saft Trio, Eyal Maoz, Dave Douglas, Elysian Fields

Elysian Fields (band)

Elysian Fields is a Brooklyn, New York based band founded in 1995 by co-composers Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow . Their music has been sometimes described as "noir rock", due to its sultry, dark and mysterious inflections, be it sonically or lyrically...

), Kenny Wollesen

Kenny Wollesen

Kenny Wollesen is an American drummer and percussionist.Wollesen lives in New York City. He has recorded and toured with many musicians including Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, Steven Bernstein and John Zorn. He is a founding member of the New Klezmer Trio and a...

 (The Dreamers, Electric Masada, New Klezmer Trio, Rob Burger). The album is notable for using a double bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

 played by Greg Cohen, as well as an electric bass

Electric Bass

Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...

 guitar played by Shanir Blumenkranz. It was released as a part of Tzadik's

Tzadik Records

Tzadik Records is a record label based in New York City specialising in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by the eclectic composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995; Zorn is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases...

 Archival series.

Track list

All songs written by John Zorn

1. "Prelude: From A Great Temple" – 4:15
2. "Sacred Dance (Invocation)" – 4:47
3. "The Book of Shadows" – 5:13
4. "Affirmation" – 5:04
5. "The Magus" – 9:08
6. "Hymn for a New Millennium" – 5:31
7. "Journey of the Magicians" – 4:02
8. "Mythic Etude" – 7:27
9. "Postlude: Prayers and Enchantment" – 5:58

Personnel

• Shanir Blumenkranz – electric Bass
• Rob Burge – piano, organ
• Greg Cohen – acoustic bass
• Ben Perowsky – drums
• Kenny Wollesen – vibraphone
  Vibraphone
  The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....